06

This story was edited by ErikThread and DaveT with my thanks and appreciation. Any errors are mine alone. It was previously posted on another site.

On the Other Hand

Chapter 5 The Date

I willed myself to be calm as I climbed the steps to the Carlisle house. In my left hand I clutched a clear-wrapped bouquet of flowers while my right thumb tentatively pressed the door bell. I heard the chimes and waited for the door to open. I could hear footsteps and then the door swung wide. It wasn't Nicole, but a middle-aged woman I guessed to be her mother.

"Hi, I'm Will Travers and I'm here for Nicole," I said, forcing my voice to be calm.

"Oh, come in Will, Nicole should be right along."

"I brought these for you ... for looking after Jimmy tonight," I said, handing the flowers to her.

"Oh, they're lovely. Thank you, Will, that's very thoughtful. Come in and meet the rest of the clan," she said merrily.

I followed her into the living room and saw a man rise from his chair to greet me.

"This is my husband, Angus. Angus, this is Will Travers."

"How do you do, Mr. Carlisle. Nice to meet you."

"It's Angus, lad," he said with a slight hint of his native brogue. "And my wife is Mary."

I stood not knowing what to say next, noticing neither Nicole nor Jimmy were in sight.

"You're off to a play, then," Mary spoke, breaking the ice.

"Yes," I said, happy for the comment. "It's a comedy about office manners and other chaos. I'm told it's good fun."

"A wise choice," Angus said with a smile. "A bit of a laugh on a first date is always a good idea."

I was beginning to breathe a little easier because of the congenial way I had been greeted. Maybe this wasn't going to be so hard after all. I was a bit premature with that thought. When Nicole appeared from the rear of the house, I caught my breath in surprise. She was drop-dead-gorgeous.

She must have seen the look on my face. I know Angus did.

"Ah, lass, you look a treat tonight," he said, taking the initiative away from me.

"Yes ... yes you do," I agreed lamely.

She was dressed in a very colorful blouse that I would describe as artistic in pattern. Like broad strokes from an artist's palette on a background of navy blue. It accentuated her figure as it tucked snugly into a navy blue knee-length skirt. For the first time, I saw that her body was more curvaceous than I originally realized. Last Sunday, her jacket had hidden much of it. Tonight it was on display, but in a dignified and classy way.

"Thank you, Daddy. Thank you, Will."

She was still in stocking feet and was fastening a single strand of pearls around her neck. I was about to go to her to help her when she finished the task. She looked amazing and I think she read that on my face.

I caught a glimpse of her mother, smiling knowingly at both of us. That was a relief.

"Look what Will brought for us," Mary said, showing Nicole the bouquet.

"Oh, that's lovely, Will. Thank you," she smiled.

I was about to say something when a towheaded youngster walked into the room, looking at me curiously.

"You must be Jimmy," I said, hoping to put him at ease.

"Uh huh," was the solitary answer.

"I'm Will," I said, extending my hand toward him.

He looked at it and approached carefully before accepting it. We shook equally carefully, mindful not to squeeze too firmly.

In a moment that I would have taken back if it hadn't been too late, I said, "I'm taking your mom to the theatre tonight. I hope that's okay with you?"

He looked at me carefully, then his mother, then back to me.

"I guess so. Is it just one time?"

"You mean this date?" I asked and he nodded.

"Well, that's up to your mom. I hope there might be more than one."

"How many?" he asked. I was getting in deep and I was looking for a life preserver.

"Laddie, you'll have to wait and see, just like we will," his grandfather said, putting his hand on Jimmy's shoulder and saving me from embarrassment.

"Okay," he said, moving to stand beside his Grandad.

I breathed a sigh of relief, but when I looked at Nicole, I thought she might burst out laughing. Her mother seemed to find the whole episode amusing too. I struggled to get myself under control and turned to Nicole.

"Shall we go?"

"Quickly, I think," she giggled as she stepped into a pair of medium height heels. I helped her with her light jacket to ward off the cool of a fall evening.

We said our goodbyes, with Nicole reminding Jimmy of his bedtime and to be good.

As we walked down the front stairs and out toward my car, Nicole took my hand a bumped my shoulder with hers.

"Not nervous are you?" she jabbed.

"Oh yeah. That was hard. I haven't been on a date in ten years. That was torture."

She stopped as I held the car door for her.

"Is it that important? This date?"

I looked at her closely. "Yes. Yes it is."

I caught the hint of a smile as she slipped into the front seat before I closed the door.

Between the Saturday evening traffic and the time it took me to park the car, we arrived at the theatre only ten minutes before the opening curtain. We decided to forego the drink and wait for the intermission. We seated ourselves in our reserved seats and I was pleased that they gave us a good view of the stage without being right on top of it.

I handed Nicole a program and a printout of Max Peller's review from our paper. It would help her follow along with the play as it went without giving away all of the plot.

By intermission I knew I had chosen well. Nicole was laughing along with the audience almost from the beginning and was clearly enjoying every minute. I had scored a winner.

"This is great fun, Will," she enthused at intermission. "Thank you so much for suggesting this. I'll have to tell all my friends at work about it."

"I'm glad you're enjoying it. I am too," I said as I passed her a small glass of white wine.

"This is so much better than a movie. The audience is more into it and you can see the actors are having a ball because of it. It's a two-way communication I've never seen before."

"Have you not been to live theatre before?"

"Yes, but it wasn't anything like this. One of my dates thought we should see something serious and chose Hamlet. I know Shakespeare is great, but it was so ... dark ... that I didn't enjoy it the way I should have. I guess I'm not cut out for that kind of entertainment."

"Neither am I. But ... I do like a good mystery. One where you don't know how it's going to turn out. When they are done in live theatre, you can come out of the playhouse at the end and be completely wrung out from following all the twists and turns."

"Oh ... I'd love to try that. I love a good mystery ... trying to figure out whodunit."

"Well, I'd be happy to put that on our calendar too," I suggested hopefully.

"Oh yes, let's," she said enthusiastically.

That was all I needed to hear. I knew now that there was a good chance for me ... for us.

When we walked out of the theatre later that evening, Nicole had her arms wrapped around mine and she was in a decidedly bubbly mood.

"Thank you, Will. That was a wonderful evening. The best I've had in a long time."

"It doesn't have to end yet," I tested. "If you'd like, we could stop for a snack and a glass of wine on the way home."

"Yes, let's do that," she agreed immediately.

We stopped at a little bistro well away from the theatre district and found it was quiet enough that we could have a conversation. The room was dimly lit and the atmosphere was subdued. The atmosphere between Nicole and me was anything but. If I was wondering if there would be a spark to encourage me, I no longer had any doubts.

"Can I make a suggestion?" I asked as the waitress left with our order.

"Sure," she smiled.

"Uhhm ... I was wondering if maybe we could have a date where Jimmy was included?"

She gave me a smile that might have been enigmatic if she hadn't reached over and kissed my cheek. Just reading her sparkling eyes told me that things were going very well between us.

"I think that would be a great idea. Did you have something in mind?"

"If it's a nice day, we could go to Wixom Lake for a picnic. If the weather doesn't cooperate, we could take in one of the matinee plays for children we talked about."

"You're really fixed on this idea about Jimmy being part of this, aren't you?"

"He has to be. He's the most important thing in your life right now. I wouldn't feel right not including him if we are going to see where our relationship might go."

"Will, whatever is happening between us is happening very quickly. Much more quickly than I would ever have expected. I'm not trying to stop it, but I am going to be careful. So far ... you're more than I expected. Much more. I think we could have something in our future. But I have to warn you ... I'm going to go slow and go carefully. I think you know why."

"Yeah, I can guess. But as long as we can see each other and let things develop as they will, then I'll be happy. I like everything I see about you. I like your family too. That counts for a lot with me. Somewhere along the line I want you to meet my parents too. I want them to know I might have struck gold," I grinned.

She was holding my hands now and only let them go when the appetizers we ordered arrived.

"All that laughing made me hungry," Nicole said as she devoured a small bruschetta-topped piece of toasted French bread.

I smiled as I watched her, enjoying the taste and letting me know it. I sampled the crab cake and pronounced it excellent as well. There was enough food to take the edge off our hunger without being too much. When the food was gone we sat back and sipped the remainder of our wine. I was wishing this evening would never end, but I knew it was drawing to a close.

"Time to go home?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. But I had a wonderful time, Will. I really did."

"Then I'm happy. We can talk about next weekend some evening during the week."

"Skype me on Wednesday," she suggested. "Sometime between eight and nine. I'll be on line."

"I'll look forward to it. It won't be as good as being there in person, but it's far better than e-mail."

She laughed. "You're right ... far better."

I walked her up to the front door, wondering if I dared try to kiss her goodnight. She beat me to it. It wasn't a long passionate kiss, but it was something more than a peck on the cheek. There was something added that made it the perfect ending to the perfect date.

I drove home feeling about as good as it was possible to feel. Full of optimism about our first date and her willingness to have another. As nervous as the evening had begun for me, I felt completely spent when I got home. I had used up all my energy in trying to impress Nicole. I guess, looking back on it, I had succeeded. When I lay back in bed, I was asleep within a minute.

Chapter 6 Start then Stop

We took Jimmy to see a play on the following Saturday afternoon. It was a kid's mystery play, apparently loosely based on a Hardy Boys novel. Jimmy loved it and both Nicole and I were kept interested as well, even though we guessed who the bad guy was. The place was full of youngsters, most of them between Jimmy's age and maybe twelve. The noise they made when something exciting happened was quite amazing. The actors really got the kids into the story and led them along all the way.

When we walked out of the theater, Jimmy turned to me.

"Can we do that again next Saturday?"

"Well, that's up to your mom, but I'm not sure it won't be the same play next week. We might have to wait a bit for a new play. But, if you liked it today, then I'd be happy to take you again."

"Yay! That was so cool when they caught the bad guy at the end. I thought he was supposed to be their friend?"

"Well, that's where he fooled the boys, didn't he. It took them a while to figure it out, but they did, didn't they?"

"Yeah. Those guys are really smart. I'd like to be a detective some day."

I looked at Nicole and I could see that certain sparkle in her eyes that I'd become used to seeing when she was very happy.

And that was the beginning of our dating. I was falling for Nicole and I didn't make any secret of it. She was, as she said she would be, cautious. That didn't mean that we didn't kiss and that the kisses became more prolonged and passionate, but we weren't going past that for now. Just being with her was a high for me, but I wondered how long it would be before Nicole was completely confident in me.

***

It was late October, nearing Halloween, and I had volunteered to take Jimmy out for Trick or Treat. Nicole had been a little distant and uncomfortable around me for the past couple of days and I wanted to find out why. I wish now I hadn't.

"I've got some news, Will," she began as we sat at the kitchen table after Jimmy had calmed down from his outing and had gone to bed. "I'm going to be away for a while on a special project. I won't be able to see you for some time. I'm sorry, but I can't get out of this. It's very important."

"What kind of project and for how long?"

"I can't tell you what it's about. The first section will last three to four weeks. I'll be out of town and won't be home until I'm finished."

"Oh ... oh wow. Gone for a month. What about Jimmy?"

"Mom and Dad will look after him. I can't take him with me."

"Why can't you tell me what it's about?"

"Because I'm not allowed to. You're a newspaperman and it's your job to get the news. I can't take the chance of information leaking out."

"Now you've got me completely confused. You're not allowed to tell me what it's about?"

"That's right."

I sat back in the chair and tried to figure out what the hell was going on. She worked for a foundation that gave money away. She had to go out of town for some reason that was related to the job, but couldn't tell me why. I racked my brain trying to piece together some sort of logical explanation, but nothing was coming to me.

"So," I said in resignation, "we'll be apart for a month, then?"

She nodded, "For the first segment."

"First segment? You mean there will be others?"

"In all probability I'll be home for a week or two, then away again for another two to three weeks."

I was shaking my head. I just didn't understand.

"What's so secret about the Hepplinger Foundation?"

"I can't tell you," she said, almost looking like she wanted to but didn't dare.

"Can you tell me where you are going?"

"No."

Stymied again.

"Is this about not being able to trust me to keep a confidence because I'm a newspaperman?"

"No. I don't want you put in a dangerous spot."

"Dangerous? How dangerous?"

"Information can be dangerous, Will. You know that."

"That means you're going to be in a dangerous situation, doesn't it?"

"I don't think so. I'll have protection."

"Protection! Tell me it isn't dangerous for you, Nicole," I demanded.

"It shouldn't be," she said, not being able to look me in the eye.

"What the hell does that mean, 'It shouldn't be'?"

"Stop it, Will. I wish I hadn't said anything now. It was stupid of me. Please forget everything I've said. I'll be fine and I'll be back by Thanksgiving."

"And then you'll be gone again," I said, now very frustrated at not being able to get to the bottom of this mystery.

"Will, please don't do this. I care about you. I could have made up some story that you would have had to accept, but I didn't want to lie to you. But I cannot tell you everything. I'm not allowed to, by order."

"From whom? Who ordered you to shut up?"

"I can't say."

"Well, that means it wasn't your own people, doesn't it?'

"I can't say."

"Do you parents know about this ... the danger I mean?"

"No. I didn't want them upset."

"But it was okay for me to be upset, eh?"

"No, Will. Please, please try to understand. I would never do anything to hurt you, but I simply can't tell you everything that's going on."

I sat back again, letting my pent up breath exhaust noisily. This had been the most frustrating conversation I had ever had. If it demonstrated one thing it was that Nicole was a very strong-willed person and wouldn't easily crack under pressure. It also demonstrated that she was becoming an obsession with me. I didn't want to just let it go, but I didn't know where to go next.

"Okay, Nicole," I said after a silence. "I accept you can't tell me. It hurts, but I don't think it's because you don't have feelings for me. You've been told to keep a confidence and you're determined to do that. I have to respect that because it happens to me quite often in my job. But give me some hope for the next month. Can we see each other on Skype?"

"I don't know. I hope so. I'm pretty sure we can because it won't reveal where I am."

I didn't bother to tell her that in fact it might. That might cause her not to use the free video service. I'd have to accept that visual contact with her would be the best I could hope for.

"Okay, Nicole. Let's leave it, then. We'll talk on Skype whenever we can. Maybe the same time at night that we do now. It won't be like being with you, but it will be better than nothing. When are you going?"

"Sunday afternoon. I have a plane to catch."

The thought flashed through my mind that if I could find out which flight she was on I'd be able to find out where she was headed.

"Well, at least we've got Friday evening and Saturday," I sighed, now resigned to her leaving.

"Yes, at least we've got that," she said, her eyes now watery from unshed tears.

It dawned on me then that she did feel for me the way I felt for her. She was holding back and not wanting to surrender just yet. Was it because of her project or her reluctance to commit herself until she was completely sure of me? I didn't know.

Friday evening we stayed in at her parent's home. I played Clue with Jimmy and Nicole while the parents watched the very domestic scene. They had invited me for dinner and I had happily accepted. When Jimmy went to bed, Angus and Mary mysteriously disappeared and Nicole and I were alone and sitting closely together on the sofa.

"I'm going to miss you so much, Nicole."

"I'll miss you too," she said quietly, looking up at me. "More than I want to admit to myself."

"Are you still unsure about me?" I asked.

"No ... no I'm not. I'm unsure about me. I'm falling in love with you and I desperately want it to be right this time. If we're going to be together, Will, I have to be able to give myself to you completely."

"And you can't do that yet?"

"I'm not sure. Right now, this job, this assignment is cluttering my mind. When it's done, I have a feeling it will be the release I'm looking for. You are a wonderful man, Will. You've won the hearts of Jimmy and my parents. You just have to be a bit patient with me. When I get back, I'll know. This separation ... it will tell me everything I need to know."

"That's all I care about. That ... and your safety. You know I'll be here for you when you come back. That's a given. You already have my heart. I don't have any doubts. When you're ready, I'll be ready too."

It was a long lingering kiss that didn't ever seem to end. When it did, I held her closely in my arms, wishing for all the world that I could take her to bed and make love to her. Show how deeply I felt for her and how much I had come to love her. But all that would have to wait. For now, I would have to be content with her closeness, her warmth, her scent, and her kisses.

Saturday, we took Jimmy to a game farm outside of town. It was sunny and cool, but Jimmy really enjoyed it and said so often. Nicole and I walked hand-in-hand as we moved around the big area along the marked trails. We weren't talking much except to remark on the animals and birds we saw. I think we were both lost in our thoughts about what was to come.